Pandas

Pandas. I have to remind myself that’s why I came here..to see Pandas. I didn’t have the best of days..and maybe I should have waited until I ate and slept to write this..but alas..here are my true feelings.

So I had a rough night last night. Nothing seemed to be going well. I packed my bags (they have NO wiggle room) but wanted to keep checking the weight. Air China’s website said I would get one bag (44lbs) and one carry-on (11lbs). My plan was to pack one bag to weigh 44lbs and stuff everything in the other bag, since I would be charged for the second bag anyway. So I would pack, weigh (with the awesome scale my mom bought me!) unpack, try to figure out how to move stuff around, repack, weigh, and repeat. It was exhausting! So I had that going on and I was also trying to upload my videos and pictures! I had spent the entire afternoon at Starbucks but still wasn’t done (they take forever to upload)! When the pictures finished uploading..they were in NO particular order. Now if you know me, you know that would drive me INSANE. And oh it did! Especially because I would have a picture of a sign for The Lama Temple and then a picture of my hostel! Alone it wouldn’t have been the end of the world, but with everything else I was not a happy camper. Then, I decided I would plug in my iPod to charge it but nothing happened. I kept doing it until a message popped up saying it was corrupted. Just woooonderful, seeing as I would be traveling from 7am to 4pm tomorrow. I was, however, able to “restart it” and all is well.

Needless to say, I managed to get about two hours of sleep last night. I’m sure you all know how you keep waking up every 5 minutes thinking maybe you over slept your alarm (or two in my case). I was up at 6:00am, had my cereal, checked my emails for the last time and was on my way. I was walking toward the hotel to catch a cab when one pulled up. I like it when things are easy.

I was really nervous about my flight. I bought my ticket on a Chinese version of Travelocity or Expedia (since it was cheaper) but I had no way of “checking-in” online. I asked Melissa where I could print out a copy of my confirmation email and she told me I could just show up with my passport, which was fine but I was still nervous. I also knew ALL of my bags were overweight and I had no clue how much it was going to cost to check an extra one. With all that being said, my plan was to leave by 7:00am but I was in the cab at 6:50ish. Melissa told me (and I knew from when I arrived in Beijing..) it should take about 40 minutes, but I was there at 7:15. Guess Sunday morning traffic isn’t too bad in Beijing!

It took me a little bit to find where I needed to check in, but I managed to get myself there. The woman said my flight had been changed from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Not ok! Since I was there so early I asked her if I could get on an earlier flight. She made a phone call and told me to check with the ticket counter. I made my way over there and asked the ticket woman. She seemed to think that was fine and told me to check in at K. I was nervous again about checking in at K but after handing her my passport she asked if I wanted window or aisle, so I was in! I put my first bag on the scale and I have no idea what it weighed. Then, I put my second bag on and she just tagged it and I was free to go! I was a little nervous but checked the stubs and they were both going to the right place. I have no idea why I didn’t have to pay for it but I thought, great!

I then made my way through security which was VERY intense. After you send your bag through you walk through the metal detector and get patted down and wanded. Then they take a chemical sample of all your things and I don’t know if they do this for everyone, but they sent everything back through again (slow day maybe). Once I made it through security I called Mr. Lui who was supposed to pick me up from the airport in Chengdu to let him know about the changes. After he didn’t pick up I tried Mr. He who I think is Mr. Lui’s boss. He answered and I tried to explain the situation. He spoke English (I think) but I don’t think he had ANY clue what I was saying. I gave him my new flight and the flight time and figured it wasn’t a big deal if I needed to wait an hour at the airport (better than waiting 2 extra hours in Beijing!).

The flight was..ok. We were on the runway for about 30 minutes before we could even take-off and I was in and out of sleep. About an hour into the flight it got VERY bumpy..to the point my tummy didn’t feel great and I had a headache. There was nobody sitting in the seat in between which I love. We landed in Chengdu at about 12:00 which was only 30 minutes before my original flight was supposed to land. I decided I would try going to the bathroom one last time before I entered “China toilet land” but had already waited too long..no western toilets! Oh well!

As I was leaving the bathroom Mr. Lui called to say he was there waiting for me. I told him I was walking towards my baggage claim so I would see him. I didn’t know (since it was domestic) if he would be right there at the baggage claim (like in Logan) but I could see people waiting behind security. The bags took a while to arrive but when they did mine were 5 and 6 respectively. Woo hoo!

Mr. Lui had a sign with my name on it (which makes it very easy, even for a blonde!) and he spoke English pretty well. He commented on my big bags and asked if I was going to take a panda home with me. I explained how I was traveling for four months etc. We met our driver and took off, in a very nice car! I fell asleep for a bit and when I woke up Mr. Lui asked if I had eaten on the plane. Since I hadn’t, we decided to stop for lunch. I knew it was going to be “interesting” when we exited the highway. We were in somewhat of a deserted parking lot with some fruit stands. I am assuming they asked if there was anywhere to eat because all of a sudden this woman started running showing us to a parking spot. We parked, got out and Mr. Lui said they would bring us to the restaurant. We crossed a small street and then a..well..plank. It was about 8 feet long and 2 feet wide (at best) to cross over a river. Let’s just say you would never find this in America. We went down a hill to the “restaurant” which seemed more like someone’s house, but they did have tables outside and a menu. Mr. Lui asked what I usually ate and I decided a burger and fries wasn’t the best answer so I told him I would eat whatever he ordered. First to arrive was this tomato dish with some brown thing. I can’t remember if I asked for rice or they just brought it..but I have decided I can eat more things when I have rice to dilute the spice/taste, whatever it may be. The dish was actually delicious (or I was really hungry)! Next was some type of pork, which I tried (a few times..) but did NOT like it. We also had soup (which the Chinese eat last) that had something that looked like angel hair pasta in it, but again I did not like it. I have found it interesting that when I have gone out with locals they have no problem leaving half eaten meals on the table.

We made it back to the car alive! As if the plank wasn’t bad enough, it was rainy and muddy and VERY slippery. We continued on and made it to the Panda place around 3:30ish.

I am in Hicksville, China. It’s true. Now I knew this was going to be “rustic” but I really had no idea. We did travel through a “larger” city on the way and then, nothing, just trees. It is actually beautiful, but it was so rainy and foggy here. So we entered “the park” and I am still very confused as to the “campus” of this place. Wherever we ended up, Mr. Lui bought me a ticket so I could enter the gate. At every turn I kept thinking, I hope this isn’t it. Everything is very run down and, I don’t even know.

The Panda base is up a mountain so the whole ride was hairpin turns. They don’t have the mirrors you usually see on sharp turns; they just beep their horn really loud. I guess that does the trick. I kept my eyes closed for most of it. I did see a “yield” sign but instead of the word “yield” it had an exclamation mark. I think that summed it up pretty well.

The driver finally stopped the car and Mr. Lui got out and we got my bags. This is a place made for people with ONE backpack. Even a small carry-on would be too much. Ugh it was AWFUL and my hands hurt so badly now from my blisters. It was probably a five minute walk from where the car could drop us off to the “hostel”. But it was all hilly, stairs and stepping stones which made it SO difficult to drag my bags. I was wet and tired and cold and my bag was so heavy and I was lugging it up stairs and across stones. At one point this woman tried to help me and I wanted to say, “I am in Asia for four months and had to pack warm clothes for this crazy country and summer-ish clothes for everywhere else!” Needless to say I am not looking forward to having to bring both bags back by myself on Saturday. We entered a courtyard area and Mr. Lui went to find someone. We then went inside another courtyard which had doors all around it. The doors were all open, which I decided did not seem good for the “heat situation”. I guess she said I could pick a room (definitely not the peak time)..so 216 it is! The room has two beds, a TV (doesn’t work), a dresser and bathroom. It is like a ghetto Chinese version of a hotel room really. This woman brought in sheets to make up my bed and that’s when I asked about the heat (it was freezing). Mr. Lui said there is no heat but there is an electric blanket of some sorts. I knew then the no heat was going to be a problem and now as I type this I can see my breath and can’t feel my fingers. Not ok.

I also asked about laundry..although I think they both laughed at me. Maybe it was a silly question but it said on their website they had laundry so I wanted to know where. Mr. Lui said the women will help me if I need to do it..but she doesn’t speak English so I am not sure how that will work.

I then looked at the bathroom. No western toilet, but it wasn’t as bad as the bathroom at school so I considered myself lucky. There is a massive water boiler above the “toilet” and he said she put the hot water on. Well at least I HAVE hot water and hopefully I won’t use it all up. Mr. Lui then asked me if I had an umbrella so I got it and asked where we were going. He told me to the Panda Park to get my pass. I specifically asked if I needed anything and he said no, so off we went.

This is when you might start to sense my frustration. I didn’t understand where I was at all..where I should eat, buy water, etc. Mr. Lui was nice but didn’t really answer my questions. He told me we were driving to the panda base (it was quicker) but said tomorrow I should walk and showed me the direction of the short cut (but nothing more) until I think I made it clear I needed more detail and he sort of drew me a map. Hmmm.

When we got to the panda base he told me I should buy a ticket for the bus to where we needed to go since it would be faster. I told him he said I didn’t need to bring anything so all I had was 20RMB in my pocket. The ticket was 10RMB so he said that was fine, but I was already frustrated that he wasn’t really telling me things. We arrived at the “base” and I started talking with a man from England who has been here 3 days and is leaving, but loved it (good to hear, because I was not loving it). He was VERY nice and helpful and told me a little bit about how there are different parts you can be placed (I still don’t get it) and how you need to leave your room by 7:40 to get here by 8:00 and get breakfast before that at 7:15 right near our rooms. He also told me meals are about 80RMB a day (which is a lot more than I spent in Beijing..strange) and said there is nothing to do at night (I figured). I thanked him for his help and then Mr. Lui asked for 150RMB for my work clothes. I told him I had no idea I was supposed to pay for that and told him 1) I didn’t have ANY money on me and 2) I would need to go to the ATM to pay for that and the cost of my food. I do realize I probably should have brought more but not knowing the price of food and that I needed to buy my suit etc. I hadn’t. So anyway he did not seem happy, and in one way I don’t blame him but I wanted to say -- listen this is why I am paying you vs coming on my own so you can take care of these things and I’m not left here confused. I feel like the same thing happened in Beijing. I was just left to figure it out on my own, which is fine but if I wanted to do that the whole time I wouldn’t have paid the money to come through a program. So then he told me I could take the hostel bus to the nearest city and go to the ATM. He wrote down (in Chinese), “How much does it cost to go to the nearest ATM?” and started explaining to me that I should bargain for the price of the ride. Again I wanted to say, “I don’t want to bargain for a ride, can you just help me please?” But someone else called and said a guy would take me for 100RMB. Mr. Lui still didn’t seem to understand that I needed to go to my room to get my ATM card, but finally I was in someone’s van (I still don’t know who..) but he seemed around my age. We were zipping around the hairpin corners, in the rain..good times!

Along the road to the town I saw people standing on the side and someone waved. All of a sudden, we slowed down and a woman and her 3 or 4 year old daughter got in. I have no idea where they were going (they got out when we stopped) or how they would have gotten there if “my guy” didn’t pick them up! Oh China.

We made it to a “downtown” area..nothing like Beijing but better than where I was. He brought me to an ATM and I tried my card twice and both times it either said, return the card or balance inquiry. I didn’t want either. I tried to tell him this (he didn’t speak any English) so he brought me inside the bank. He must have explained this to the bank teller because she asked me how much I wanted, I told her and she pointed to the woman next to her and said wait. So while I was waiting I pulled out my phone card. I had called to see how much I had left but it wouldn’t let me do it (in Beijing it worked fine) and since I felt like I was having an awful day I wanted to make sure I would be able to call and vent to somebody! She looked at me confused and asked, “What are you doing?” I don’t know if she thought I was trying to use my phone card as my ATM card? Anyway the other lady looked at my card (she didn’t speak English) and gave it back to the lady who spoke VERY little English and she told me it didn’t work here. I handed her my other Bank of America ATM card but she said that wouldn’t work either and I think she said I needed to go to another bank. My guy was no help, so I looked at her and said, “Can you tell him all this?” I think she did, but then she said, “Come back tomorrow and we help you.” Grrrrreat just what I wanted to do on a Monday. We left, and then all of a sudden my guy pulled over in front of another bank! Woo hoo he understand! So THAT ATM worked (it was just like the one I used in Beijing) so I was VERY happy. I then pointed to my phone card and off we went again. We went into a China Unicom store (usually I just buy it from a kiosk on the side of the road) and I showed them my card. They all seemed confused and my guy said something to them. I had never felt more, alone? Helpless? I had NOBODY with me that spoke English and I was in the middle of China where nobody really spoke English anyway. It was the first time since I have been gone that I truly missed the comfort of home. I hated feeling uncomfortable, not even in the sense of people staring at me, but just out of place. I couldn’t read anything, I couldn’t understand, nothing was familiar or safe. I handed her my phone and the phone card and it took a while but eventually she seemed to charge it. I have never had it done like that in the store and I saw it was a different card but hopefully I won’t run out of minutes.

We left and I felt somewhat relieved, but I wasn’t looking forward to going back. I don’t want to sound like I am complaining..I know I have an AMAZING opportunity, but I just didn’t want to go back. We arrived and he parked his car in like the middle of a random road and got out. So I pointed at three different roads because I had no idea where I was and he pointed down one and I started walking. I did end up back where the car dropped me off today but it was like a ghost town. Really, really, creepy. I didn’t feel unsafe, but it is also the first time I felt a little scared while being away. It could have been the rain, the fog, the darkness, but I didn’t like it. I wanted to try and get my bearings, but it was so dark and rainy I didn’t want to walk too far. I think I found where to eat dinner, but I was not in the mood to attempt that, and when I went to the window I didn’t hear any English, so figured peanut butter crackers would have to do for tonight.

My room is FREEZING. Really it’s awful. I attempted a shower, and what dribbled out of the spout was hot, but I wouldn’t call it a shower. It is over the “toilet” so..well..since I am being honest..I found it easy to just pee and shower at the same time! I might have to adopt this 2 in 1 thing when I get back home (sorry Mom and Dad!)

I was hoping the steam would make the bathroom a little bit warmer, but no such luck. I have on my PJ pants, two pairs of socks, a shirt, sweater and sweatshirt. I am not looking forward to sleeping tonight because I know it’ll be so cold.

I am hoping tomorrow will be better. A fresh new day and Pandas..the whole reason I am here. Plus, even if it isn’t, I am only here for 5 more days.